Human-Wildlife Conflicts in the Southern Yungas: What Role do Raptors Play for Local Settlers?

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Human-Wildlife conflict (HWC) has become an important threat producing biodiversity loss around the world. As conflictive situations highly depend on their unique socio-ecological context, evaluation of the different aspects of the human dimension of conflicts is crucial to ensure wildlife conservation and people’s well-being at the same time. Raptors have been historically involved in HWC because some of them are considered livestock predators. We conducted interviews to evaluate the existence, extent and characteristics of human-raptor conflicts in the Southern Yungas region in Northwestern Argentina, identified as a priority area for raptor research. Our results suggest that conflict is only concentrated in certain high-profile raptor species—particularly those considered cattle predators—with a general high tolerance towards poultry predators. Livestock and poultry rearing are the only socio-demographic variables associated with the existence of HWC, independently of age, gender and occupation of interviewees. Andean condor, a Vulnerable species persecuted in some regions of Argentina, was the most conflictive species as it is locally considered a livestock predator. Though reports of Condor persecution were scarce in our study, negative attitudes towards this species, together with the increasing number of mass poisonings, highlight the need to address this conflict through true intercultural dialogue and transdisciplinary approaches. ABSTRACT: Wildlife persecution due to human-wildlife conflict has become a serious concern for biodiversity conservation, especially for many endangered species. In this context, conservation approaches need to consider the socio-ecological dimensions of each particular situation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence, extent and social characteristics of Human-Raptor Conflicts (HRC) in the Southern Yungas region in northwestern Argentina. We conducted 115 semi-structured interviews in 21 sites and analyzed attitudes and associations between sociodemographic variables and the existence of HRC. Forty percent of interviewees showed negative attitudes towards raptors, mainly with those species considered livestock predators rather than poultry predators. A total of 11 species were regarded as conflictive because of predation on domestic animals, of which Andean condors showed the highest conflict. The only socio-demographic factor affecting conflicts was livestock and poultry rearing, independently of age, gender and occupation of interviewees. The fact that only 8.7% of interviewees reported taking direct actions towards conflictive species indicates a relatively peaceful coexistence of people with raptors. Nevertheless, negative attitudes towards Andean condor together with their extreme susceptibility to any increase in non-natural mortality indicate the need of an integral conservation approach to tackle future threats for this species’ conservation in the area.